Santa Cueva de Covadonga

You want some advice? Choose well the time of year you want to go there. Depending on the time of year there will be more or less people. I chose the 2nd week of July and it was a perfect choice.

For me, it is an absolute must visit. To go by car until Covadonga, to park and to find this extremely beautiful temple in the middle of a natural park is priceless. You have to see it for yourself. The pictures and videos can only give you an idea.

We continued the visit going up to the lakes; I recommend that you do the same. Depending on the time of year you can do it by bus or car.

One of my goals was to visit this Basilica, since I had heard a lot about it back home. It was constructed in a neo-Romanic style at the end of the 19th century and it is located on the rocky platform over the Cerro del Cueto, the heart of a green valley surrounded by the peaks of the Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa.

The place where it was built is considered to be the cradle of the Reconquista, since it is the place where Pelagius defeated the Arabs sent by the emir Alcama in the year 722.

This Basilica is impressive on the outside, magnificent, splendid, warm, and it inspires pious feelings; inside you breathe peace.

Although it has been renovated, especially during recent years as a result of the large tourist influx, this cave is of natural origins. It is named after the name of the Virgin, as Covadonga means "Cave Lady, Cova Dominica." The first time that construction was carried out in the Holy Cave was during the time of Alfonso the Catholic, who ordered a chapel to be built in honor of the victory of King Pelayo against the Muslims. At first the cave was lined with wood, but in the year 1777 a fire destroyed it, and the image of the Virgin was also destroyed. A year later, Oviedo Cathedral donated the current image.

The Basilica is the first thing that catches the attention of the visitor when he arrives in Covadonga. It is spectacular. Its reddish color is very nice. The construction was finished in 1901, in neo-Romanic style. It has become a place of pilgrimage.

To walk there gives you a special feeling; you can feel something different, even in the statue of Pelagius. One must not forget that the Reconquista started here, at this point. It is the origin of Spain as we know it.